WHAT? Japanese potstickers. Like many Japanese culinary traditions—chopsticks, noodles, and soy sauce, to name a few—gyoza, or pan-fried pork dumplings, were borrowed from the Chinese. Even the Japanese name is derived from the Mandarin jiaozi. A relative newcomer, it's believed gyoza arrived in Japan sometime in the 1930s, after the Japanese invasion of China, and were popularized around the country during the 1940s. Today, the Japanese dumplings have a more heavily seasoned filling and thinner dough than their Chinese cousins. Fried on one side until crisp then steamed until tender, gyoza are one of the few non-noodle dishes found on menus in ramen shops in Japan, where they are served with a dipping sauce of soy sauce, vinegar, and sesame or chili oil. There are also gyoza restaurants. True gyoza lovers should find their way to Ikebukuro's Sunshine City complex where part of the Namco Namjatown amusement center is a dumpling theme park called Gyoza Stadium. There, in a setting designed to look like a Japanese village in the 1960s, are gathered 12 of the best gyoza makers from around the country. Paradise found.
WHERE? E. Chewy Cereceres' Beard House DinnerWHEN? February 26, 2010HOW? Crispy Maitake Mushroom Gyoza with Lobster Cream and Flowering Chives